[Simpsons - Colne]

I have been patronising Simpsons Skoda since 2007 when I bought a new vehicle from them. I chose Simpsons because a) they gave me the demo car keys and let me really try the car out on a long drive to truly evaluate the car and there was no high pressure sales tactics afterwards. I'd always had courteous reliable treatment each time I went for any service work to be done. Then, when myself and my partner decided to change both our cars for new Skodas we went to see what they could offer us. Instead of being made to feel like a valued customer, the salesman treated us to a humiliating session where he his ego ran riot which lost him and them a 2 car sale. I wrote to the MD who apologised and asked if we would consider them again for any servicing needs.

Fast forward on 5 years and my Yeti is still as great as it ever was however this time standards at Simpsons have slipped significantly. I live a good 30 minutes drive from the Colne branch and in the past they have either offered to collect my car or offered a courtesy vehicle, neither was offered this time. There are a number of  Skoda dealers now that are much closer to where I live & work however having always trusted the professionalism of Simpsons I booked a day off and the car in for its annual service. I was disappointed to be told to come back at the end of the day so advised them that it was booked well in advance and that I was stranded there without transport. They managed to move things around eventually but it still meant hanging around for half a day. The basic service was £400 which admittedly included changing the DSG gearbox oil however they wanted another £600 for changing the cam belt; it would have been far more helpful if I'd been pre-warned that this work would have been required at that mileage. 

I'd left my service book on the passenger seat for stamping however that didn't get done but it was only when the car almost spun out of control in heavy rain when I realised their worst mistake; they'd taken my front wheels off to check brakes etc but put them back on the wrong side and the directional treads were now back to front! 

I called the service manager as soon as I'd noticed - she was in a meeting but she'd call me back. Weeks went by without even an apologetic email so I emailed Neil Simpson the MD as I was sure he'd be disappointed with the service I was given. Weeks have passed and I'm still waiting for a simple acknowledgement.

Sadly they're now too big to give the excellent service that won my custom 10 years ago so I shall be giving a more local dealer a try next time.

[ŠKODA Octavia RS: Now with all-wheel drive and six-speed DSG]

What if I want a Q car? A car that is fun to hustle along when alone, but it will fit the family, bikes and dogs in and tow the caravan? Surely this is more appealing than a pure performance machine? Lets face it there are better hot hatches for similar money.

[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Thanks Shark. Are they up & running now?

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[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Thanks for the feedback - looks like Sharks the way to go!

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[Haldex failure scare]

Hi all. I've also got a problem with no drive to the rear wheels when the fronts lose traction and spin. It's a 2010 Yeti 4wd se 110 2.0 tdi. This happens on steep snow covered inclines. It doesn't matter whether I take off gently just using the clutch or give it more power, the rear wheels are not driving when the front loses grip. I've also tried driving up an icy road and deliberately using too much power, again the fronts spin and no drive from the year.

Has anyone who had the same issue managed to solve the problem? Any help / advice much appreciated, thanks.

I'm the OP and it was an error generated by a low battery; the ECU shut down all non essential functions to save power. The dealer reset everything and all has been fine since.

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[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Sadly rock hoppers mods were done well before an OBD solution was available. Has anyone had a more recent remap via the port? Bluefin are quoting £499; my local Shark outfit are not contactable so no idea of their pricing. Awesome Gti quote prices but not results on their website so not very confident in giving them the work and CRD still want to open up my ECU for £350. !

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[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Tried calling GNJ but they don't answer their phone either....!

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[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

BTW the GNJ site seems to be under development

[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Thanks Shark. I don't suppose you could provide stats and costs could you?

[Advice on tuning a Yeti 140 tdi DSG 4x4]

Hi my yeti will be 4 years old in May. I've done just 35k from new and it's in great condition so I think it's a keeper as it ticks most of my boxes ( I have a 1200cc bike for thrills) and it tows our caravan very well. We took the combo down to the Dordogne last summer and I noticed that the flat bits in France are in fact very hilly and the mpg suffered getting down into the high 20's with bikes on the roof and stiff headwinds.

The car pulls well from low down but runs out of steam at motorway speeds and a little more grunt would be nice.

There are a few tuning shops around the North west but I'm not so keen on someone breaking open my ECU however I believe there are non invasive solutions now available (bluefin, superchips, shark?)

Has anyone remapped their DSG TDi vehicle successfully and are there any recommendations of tuners in my area please?

One more question - how did it affect your insurance premium?

Thanks

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[Best Yeti for Track work and Tuning Potential? Thoughts...........?]

The CR170 diesel with 4x4 is a very good road-weapon. I have driven it 10,000 miles in 4 months and a big chunk of that was around the Scottish Highlands where it's handling belied it's bulk & height, and the acceleration for uphill overtaking was pretty astonishing.

However.... as a track day car... I'm not so convinced.

It's pretty good - for what it is -in the context of a road vehicle.

Compared with other "upright" vehicles (I recently drove a Merc B class for comparison) it's handling is really good.

On a track - I would expect it to be a bit too wallowy and unwieldy - and I would expect the fizzy petrols to be a better bet.

As a noteworthy point - the brakes on the CR170 are phenomenal - and could easily handle significantly extra power.

Embarrassed more powerful machines with a 140tdi DSG

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[Urban 170 4x4]

OK - some facts. Clearly, both cars have the same horsepower. However, the Octavia weighs in at 1415Kgs while the Yeti scales 1460Kgs. The Yeti's 4wd may explain why it can equal the Octavia's 8,1 secs acceleration to 60, but the extra weight (and the aerodynamics) probably explain why the Octavia will go on to 139 mph while the yeti can only hit 125 mph. I ought to make the disclaimer that these are official figures - I have no idea if they are true.

My gut feeling is that on a race track, the Octavia will be quicker, at least in dry conditions. The lower centre of gravity and higher top speed should be sufficient to beat the Yeti. On a rallycross track the Yeti will win. On the road, both will be great fun to drive - but the Yeti is infinitely cooler

Mind you - there is only one way to find out -

FIGHT!!!!

I just about kept up with a 170 Vrs on a track day in my 140dsg yeti. The 4x4 helped a lot even in the dry but high COG conspired against me.

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[Haldex failure scare]

My drive to work is like a b-road rally stage - narrow, twisty, bumpy. undulating and always wet! The Yeti can cover this terrain as quick as anything due to its confidence inspiring levels of grip and good balance.

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[Haldex failure scare]

I think the lack of scare stories on here proves that it's a really intelligent and reliable system so as the man says just drive it and enjoy it! I love the way you can floor it at a junction and get instant drama free drive where 2wd cars would be scrabbling around for grip

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[Haldex failure scare]

I'm not sure if some of the posts are addressing the OP or not but the car has been faultless ever since. The haldex system is sophisticated enough to sense slip before you do so you shouldn't experience FWD scrabble unless the conditions are extreme. I live on an unmade road and I never experience this apart from when the battery had been drained.

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[Haldex failure scare]

I'm on my third set of the same Dunlop SP01 Sport tyres that come fitted to most Yeti's on 17" rims, except on an Octavia Scout.

I rate the tyres very well although as with all subjective topics others hate them.

Rubbish in snow though! The car will get you moving but jeez it's scary trying to stop with that radial concentric tread pattern

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[Haldex failure scare]

The reason I was concerned was from seeing horror stories on here of £1k - 2.5k costs of putting Haldex problems right and the car's warranty ended 4 months ago...... What surprised me if there was a failure was that the car has only done 31k miles with full dealer service history.

 

I use my Triumph Explorer most of the time so the car can sit for days without being used and even then it may only get a short run to pick the kids up.

 

Anyway, I thought I would share this with you in case you experience similar issues that could just be down to a low battery.

[Haldex failure scare]

During a normal drive recently, I pulled out of a junction to find that my 2.0- Tdi Yeti 4x4 was scrabbling for front grip, normally it would shift drive to the rear without creating any fuss or drama which concerned me.The road where I live is a loose unadopted lane with a steep approach so I tried a hill start and again the FWD struggled for grip.

 

I saw that there was a chap locally whio had the diagnostics cable and he very kindly showed me that there was a fault with the Haldex amongst one or two other alerts however no warning lights were showing. I checked all fuses and tested again and still no rear drive was apparent.

 

I checked in with Simpsons in Colne and they put the car on the rollers however the rear drive was working so they hooked it up and sure enough there were a catalogue of faults; what transpired was that the battery had become quite drained through lack of longer journeys of late and what the car had done was to halt all non-essential processes to ensure that the engine management and brakes were given priority. They reset the system and all is fine - No charge! 

 

When I was contemplating a monstrous bill for a failed 4x4 system, I am a very happy man and very grateful for the superb service at Simpsons.

 

 

[Selling your Yeti in the new year?]

After DSG I wouldn't go back to a manual..... Quicker shifting and more relaxed too....

[Selling your Yeti in the new year?]

I am toying with selling my Candy White 2.0 4x4 Elegance DSG with factory towbar.... I love it but hardly use it as I have a motorbike which gets me to work quicker..... It would have to be a good offer though otherwise I may as well keep it for those times when a motorbike just wont do!

PS I sold my Fabia Vrs Mk11 but grudgingly.... I loved the fact that I could pootle along in traffic sedately on the commute but it was blisteringly quick when you wanted to play using the paddles. My partner had traded her Landcruiser in for the yETI but her growing business required a van so when the Yeti finally arrived, I had to make a choice and the Yeti was the sensible option.

[Octavia vRS]

I loved my vRS tdi however it couldn't put all that torque to good use in the wet; I have a yeti now and although its the 140 dsg, it leaves many cars behind at the lights as it launches away without drama. If the new vRS had 4x4 then I'd put my name on one for sure!

[Yeti wheel arch kit]

Hi

Has anyone fitted the wheelarch extensions as seen on the new Urban special edition?

I got a quote from the dealer at £204.50 plus £52 for adhesive; they wanted nearly £200 to fit them!

I was interested at round about the £300 mark all in but almost £500.........!

If they are easy to DIY then I may reconsider

many thanks

[Chomondeley pageant of power,2012]

any codes available as yet?

I got a discount by booking late which is the wrong way round really!

[Removing rear reg plate]

Thanks for the input so far..... the problem is that it seems to be very well attached and if I pull too hard, the plastic surround will probably break. If anyone has removed theirs, Id be grateful for the definitive answer.

Cheers

[Towbar costs again]

Interesting you say that. I was given two prices by my supplying dealer (in November) for the towbar. Price one was with factory prep and the detachable bar and price two was without the factory prep.

The dealer advised to go for the factory prep as this was the better option as the factory upgrade the engine cooling system, fit the loom to the rear of the car and put a different bumper on with the removable section in prepration for the towbar to be fitted by the dealer.

The none factory prep doesn't have the upgraded cooling which cannot be retrofitted, the wiring isn't installed and the dealer said it was a pain to fit (hence why a lot of dealers sub this work out) and they also had to cut the bumper to install the removable section.

Yes def are two options; as you correctly mention the factory prep has a different loom, extra cooling fan and the engine management is prepped for the towbar. When you hitch up it shows the trailer in the radio display. It also sets up the electronics to compensate for the extra weight and will adjust braking etc. accordingly. Plus the hole is cut in the factory with a neat flap to cover over the hidden hitch/electrics.